Dr. Thomas Huber aus Bern stellt Forschungsarbeit vor
Beschreibung
Über aktuelle Ergebnisse seiner Studien zu Software Outsourcing berichtet Dr. Thomas Huber von der Universität Bern an der GGS. Beim Forschungsseminar am Donnerstag, 28. September, spricht der Oberassistent für Digital Ecosystems and Digital Transformation über "How and why software outsourcing projects drift – an actor-network-theoretic investigation of control processes".Über den Vortrag
This study seeks to explain the perplexing phenomenon that many software outsourcing projects drift, i.e., they enter into a creeping process of increasingly deviating from their initial objectives. Such
drift is difficult to reconcile with the traditional logic of control found in the literature. According to this logic, clients should be able to prevent drift by selecting, adapting, and enacting controls to
ensure goal achievement. If drift occurs despite rigid control, this suggests that within the control process forces are at work that divert controls from their initial objectives.
To better understand these forces and how they relate to drift, we contrast the logic of control with concepts and assumptions from actor-network theory (ANT). ANT allows us to understand the process of designing, enacting, and adapting controls as one of creating and changing actor-networks. Our longitudinal case study of four software outsourcing projects reveals that control processes either encourage or discourage drift depending on three interconnected differences in actor-networks, i.e., which actors partake in the negotiation of controls, what specific controls they design, and whether they inscribe difficult to revert changes in the software artifact and the software task. We synthesize these findings into a process model that provides novel insights for control research in software outsourcing.
Die GGS-Forschungsseminare
Das GGS-Forschungsseminar findet etwa einmal im Monat statt. Ziel ist es in einen aktiven Austausch mit der wirtschaftswissenschaftlichen und juristischen Forschungsgemeinschaft zu treten und dabei die Wissenschaft lebendig werden zu lassen. Mitglieder der Fakultät und Interessierte sind herzlich eingeladen, an den Vorträgen teilzunehmen. Wir bitten jedoch um vorherige Anmeldung bis drei Tage vor dem Forschungsseminar per E-Mail oder telefonisch unter 07131 645636-27.
Veranstalter
German Graduate SchoolBildungscampus 2
74076 Heilbronn
13-14:15 Uhr
